The Promise Fulfilled
God is a Father who keeps his promises and wove together a powerful story that would connect the Old Testament to the New, culminating in the death and resurrection of his Son for our salvation.
From the Old Testament, we hear today how Ezra the priest gave comfort to the people of Israel: "Today is holy to the Lord. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength!" (Neh 8:8-10). Jesus, standing firmly in the tradition of the great teachers, priests, and prophets of Israel, reads from the scroll of the prophet of Isaiah in his hometown of Nazareth:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Jesus then utters the strange and disturbing words: "Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
How will we respond to the call and the demands of Christ today?